P2TTSBTJB,q. the Parnell family hare been christened, and an ottoman tipped with an Irish harp in bog oak carved by Connolly, on which lies a quilted green silk spread sent to Mr. Parr.e.l when he was imprisoned in Kil tnainham, and on either side of the windows are two nandsome caskets in carved oak and silver, one given by the city of Dublin and the other by the city of Limerick. ItEJIIXDEB OP HIS MOTHER. Behind the former is an address from "U'atcrford and the latter is backed by the address presented to Mrs. Delia S. Parnell, the statesman's mother, by the National Land League of the county of "Wicklow. There are a number of examples of the old masters and many family pictures on the walls, and two very handsome inlaid marble tables which are covered with old china, rare bits of glass and other bric-a-brac Under one of these tables stand the full-sized wheelbarrow and spade in hoc oak and solid silver presented by "William Murphy when Mr. Parnell turned the first sod of the West Clare Kailway. Ihe mantelpiece is a very rare and valua ble example of Florentine mosaic done in Irish marble, the entire frame being traversed with shaded wreaths of foliage, iruiU and flowers. On the center table are three emu eggs mounted in silver, and pre sented bv Mr. John Vox, an Irish-Australian, to Mr. Parnell. to his mother and eis ter Fanuv, also an lister egg m silver and gilt sent bv the Irish ladies of Liverpool to Kilniainhamjail, with a golden yelk of a hundred guineas. OM.Y ONE PICTURE. The walls and ceiling of the dining room are elaborately and admirably decorated in stucco work alter the very bestsUleof the renaissance, a peculiar effect being produced by large wall mirrors inlaid lu wreaths of finely finished plaster flower work, and tnere are some ery choice medallions in color, also set flush with the snrlace of the walls. The only picture is a life-sue portrait of Commodore Charles Stewart, father ot Mrs. Delia S. Parnell, painted by Sully, alter his ictorv over tne British navy on the big lakes. There are some Chippendale cnairs and a sideboard made to fit the alrove built lor it. If anyone were to reproduce this room in America he would not regret it, and. lor that matter, the whole plan of the house is very livable, and is a good model for a country house anj where. The library, which also serves as the breakfast room, is on the left, facing toward the Mceta.g of the Waters. There are many thousand books, mostly old volumes, many o which jre very valuable, having been collected by the grandfather of the prcset.t owner, Mho was a great enthusiast in art and letters. Iu one corner is a curi ous octagon est, matched by one of more laod-rn design at the ingle nook, and com fortable arm chairs stand on either side of a wide wood fireplace, with tables, dinner and tea, dotted here and there over the room. FAVORITE MOUNTAIN EETKEAT. During ray visit e went to the moun tains alter grouse, driving tbrouch the fa mous village ot Aughrim, then upward and onward until the grass and the trees were left behind, and the purple heather bloomed nut against the brown turf and gray bleak stone The air became purer, a sense of still beauty came over one as the light and shade chased each other over the rounded slopes of radiant color: now the mountain frowned, and now a flash leaped up as the sunshine tipped some brook trickling adown th? canyons. Presently we turned a long spur of the hills and got a first glimp.e ot Augh-a-Tanash, which imans in English "Tne House oi the Dirtv Woman," where Charlis S. Parnell is most at home, for he prefers the nlace in the mountains even to Avnu dile. After the revolution of 179S the En glish colonized Wicklow with a resident armrana built military roads and barracks for the soldiers. By the strange irony of fate the chierest fortalice, in which, as the story goes, 2.000 Men were lodged, was altered over by Mr. Paruell's f itlier, and the central portion now serves as a shooting lodgp, while the ends are gone to rack ami ruin, and the vast ex panse of the walled in drill yard serves as a TLATGEOUS Droit TnE DOGS. The rooms are vast and desolate. The vislas from the windows arc sublime. In lrout the valley trends s way lor miles and ruiics, while in the rear Lug-na-quilla, the second highest mountain in Ireland, rises aloft over thousands of acres amid the drift ing clouds that enwrcath its regal summit. Charles fa. Parnell is kot the strong man that he was in ears gone by. He was wont to sit by the sreat fireplace and think, when he should hive been on the moor. The wear and worry of nis weishty life of tur moil, anxiety and relaxation have worn upon him, and the lusty limbs that were wont to lean from clump to clump of heather rested easier in the saddle of the shooting pony that Mr. Corbett had brought along. But wheu the wide ranging dogs stiffened to statues ot red bronze and there was the hush of expectancy in the air, then the old spirit came oer him and he sprang lightly to the sod, grasped he old under-grip gun, made by Itigbv, of Dublin, and given him by bis brother John 20 years ago. and then slowlv, anxious.lv. meu and doss drear on until tne brown birds burst into air with deck of beak and whirr of wings, as though a volcano had exploded at our feet. THE SPOUT OJT THE JIOOB. The guns speak, feathers fly, some of the nack sail over the hill on outspread pinions, some come thudding to the heather tc drum out their life or scramble into vain sought hiding amid the cracks and lumps of turf. Or may be the white scut of a hare goes bobbing over the nnevenground, firing last, but not fat enough lor the leaden hail that follows. I have known most hunting that there is, but give me a good grouse mour in good season and I will ask no more. We fished and shot, feasted on the spoils of our rods and guns and wondered at the people of the place, with their patient, hopeful, hopeless, let-things-be, it's-all-for-the-best way of living Then one morning we drove away from Avondale, through the undulating hills, across lovely Glennamure and through the choicest scenes of Wick low to tLe Seven Churches and Gleuda Jough. Here we took a boat, rowed under Si. Kevin's Bed, caught a basket ot fine lake trout, and then to horse azain, and followed the Avon back to the old house on the hill. My visit was wondrous pleasant and will not soon be forgotten. H. F. Johnston. THE POWER OF HABIT. How Tincture of Aloes Got tlie Better of a Eright Young Man. I have read of men who have acquired the habit of chewing cloves or coffee beans until the habit bad taken as strong a bold as ever did alcohol, morphine or cocaine upon its victims, savs Dr. A.C.Hobinson, of St. Louis, in the Globe-Democrat. I can readily be lieve this, because there is a young man ol ray acquaintance who actually acquired what was for a long time an uncontrollable taste for the tincture of aloes, one of tbe bit terest substances in or out of the pharnia. copcsia. He had beeu addicted from child hood to the disagreeable habit of biting his finger nails incessantly. He was advised to touch the tips of his fingers with the tincture of aloes. At first the remedy was successlul, but the desire to nibble at his nails was incessant. Gradually he got used to the bitter taste. Later on be craved it, and he actually reached the point where he carried a phial of the fluid about with him, and applied it from time to time to bis finger ends, being utterly miseraole without it. The effect on his constitution of this idealized nircotiza tion at last became so serious that he ap plied to a celebrated nervous specialist who, treating the habit as a disease, in some manner effected a cure. Tbe young man now grows talons where lie bad the nails gnawed down to tbe quick formerly. A. Boom for Uncle Jere Ex-Speaker J. Warren Keifer, of Ohio, says be believes the Republican nominee for President, if the convention should be held tbis winter, would be ex-Governor Jeremiah Busk, of Wisconsin, Secretary of Agriculture. ELECTRIC EXECUTIO flow the Eillins: of Kemmler Might flaye Been Made Much More Successful. A CONSTANT C0RHENT NEEDED. Tbe Dynamo Fumisteda Constant Pressure and the Cnrrcnt Yaried With the Resistance. A PEOPER MACHINE EASILY MADE. The Trouble It Ttit tat Hnmsa Body Doesn't Always Eire th Suae Bcsutues. tWRITTEJf TOR TUB DISrATCH.1 The execution of Kemmler by electricity is still fresh in the minds of the public, and other executions by the same means are to occur shortly in the State of New York. The certainty of these future executions make it incumbent upon those in charge to profit by the experience gained in Kemni ler's case. It has been charged that the harrowing scenes in the execution room origin ited in the minds of correspondents whose imagination was stimulated by parties interested; but it has not been proved. Nevertheless, leaving this out of sight, it is an established fact that the current was ap plied the second time upon Kemmlei, and, to that extent at least, the execution was a failure.' Why was it so? There is not the shadow of a doubt that people haver been instantly killed by electric shocks, and these from dynamos of the same character as that used to kill Kemmler. This fact alone points strongly in favor of electrocution. But can the current not be used to better advantage, and are there not methods of applying it that will preclude the possibility or failure? rOWElt OF THE COMJIEECIAI. DYNAMO. Electrocution is a new and novel appli cation of electricity, but suppose it was not new? Suppose it had come into use about the time of th. commercial dynamo. Would it be reasonable to expeot a dynamo built and designed for incandescent lighting to be equally well adapted to produce a death dealing shock? Just because your powder used iu blasting rocks will kill, is no reason why a more suitable powder shoulu no: be used in a gun. Just because a locomotive has power is no reason for using its power other wise than on the rails. Engines are built to suit the work they arc intended to do. Dynamos are built and designed with the same object iu view. One dynamo is de signed for electric plating; another for street car traction; another for arc lamps; another lor incandescent, and so on almost without end. But a ujuamo designed for electro plating would not work at all on an arc circuit. Can we wonder then, that electro cution with a dynamo designed to work on an incandescent circuit has not proved a grand success? The dynamo used was a constant potential machine; that is, it gaveaconstant pressure. To undeistand what this and that which is to follow means, it will be necessary to understani the simple law of the flow of electric current, called Ohm's law. It is this. The pressure or the force pushing the current through the circuit is always equal to tbe current flowing multiplied by the re sistance of the circuit. That is, suppose the pressure were 2,000 volts and the resistance 1,000 ohms, then the current would of neces sity be 2 amperes. It the pressure were 2,000 volts and the resistance 2,000 ohms, then the current would be only 1 ampere. it's the cuunE ;t that kixxs. Thus it will be seen that with a constant pressure the current will vary inversely as the resistance.in other words if tbe rcsistince is doubled the current will be halved. Now it must be distinctly understood that it is the current that kills, not the pressure. However, as the resistance of the human body is Terr high, it takes a great pressure 'to lorce tbe netded current to produce in stant death through the body. Exactly what this death-dealing current is, I do not know, nor does anybody else. However, lor the convenience of arguing the point in question, let us assume that one ampere is the needed current to produce instant death, and I do not think tnat tbis can be far out of tbe way. The dynamo used on Kemmler was a con stant pressure machine. Now, if we assume that it gave s pressure of 2,000 volts and that the resistance of Kemmler s body was 2,000 ohms, then the current passed through his body wonld have been one ampere, which, according to our assumption, would have produced instant death. But, on the other hand, if the resistance of Kemmlcr's body had been greater than 2,000 ohms, then the current would have been correspondingly less, and death, according to our assump tion, would not have bien instantaneous. Now, is it an undisputed tact that the elec trical resistance ot the human body is chang ing all tbe time, and that, too, through very wide limits. A constant pressure dynamo might, therefore, at one moment yield tbe death-dealing current of one ampere aud the next moment entirely fail, due to the change of the resistance of the body placed in the circuit. A COSSTANT CURRENT THE THING. Ere this it must have become per "ectly clear to the reader that what is needed for the purpose in question is a constant cur rent dynamo, be the death-dealing current what it may, 1, 2, 2J or 3 amperes. It is just as easy to build a constant current dynamo as it is to build a constant pressure dynamo. The use of a constant pressure in candescent dynamo for electrocution is to my mind like using a shotgun to shoot a man to death, in so far that the instruments in either case are not designed for that kind of work, and, consequently, when used tor this purpose, they fail to give entire satis faction. There is also one other way of looking at it. A blunderbuss will kill a man, but a pistol will do tbe came work better aud with less powder. The incandescent machine used on Kemm ler was, if I remember rightly, a COO-light machine, and this means a capacity of about 40-horse power. But a machine de signed for the purpose aud having a capac ity of about four or five horse power, would do the work better and bear the s-iioe rela tion to the 40-horse power machine that the pistol does to the blunderbuss. Let us now take a closer view of a constant current machine and see what can be done with it. We know that a constant current machine can be made, and we know that it is the cur rent which causes death, and not the pres sure. However, we do not know the exact current needed to produce death. It may not, in fact it is quite likely that it is not, the same for everybody. The proper cur rent can only be determined by experiment, and for this reason it is very much to be re gretted that this data was not furnished by the Kemmler experience. GIVING PLENTY OF M AUG IN. Now, we have assumed that one ampere of current is sufficient to kill a man. If that is so, then two amperes will more than likely cover every possible case, and using the style ot dynamo that I propose, this cur rent of two amperes wilt be quite independ ent of the resistance or other conditions of the subject It seems to me, therefore, that the proper dynamo for the purpose in ques tion is one that will yield a constant current of two amperes (or to put it more broadly, a constant current sufficient to cause instant death) and an electromotive force (pres sure) capable of rising as high as 10,000 volts. The application of Ohm's law will show how such a dynamo will invariably adapt itself to the resistance of the subject and cause instant death. One or two examples will illustrate. Suppose the subject, in position and ready for death, has a re sistance of 1,000 ohms; then, accord ing to Ohin'a law,, the. pressure must be equal to the constant current of two amperes twice the resistauoe, 1,000 ohms. This will give a pressure of 2,000 volts, and this constant curreHt ma chine will instantly adapt itself to these conditions. Suppose the subject has a ret sistance of 4,000 ohms, then, as above, ac cording to Ohm's law the pressure will be 8,000 volts, and again, the dynamo, if con structed to give a constant current will adapt itself to these conditions) A little further consideration will at once show, thntwith a constant current dynamo, the preliminary measurements made on Kemm ler to determine his electrical resistance, would be unnecessary, for by the very con struction of the machine any variation in resistance is provided for. It may be, that numerically, the above figures do not suit the case. However, relatively they do. They serve to convey the idea I have striven to present. It is not proper to use a blunder buss for capital punishment when a pistol ia at hand. Scire Facias., 1AEGEST DYNAMITE GUIT.' It Has Just Been rinished and Is to TJso Compressed Air. Fall Mall Budget. Messrs. Taunton, Delmard, Lane & Co., ot Birmingham, are just finishing tbe largest dynamite guu which has yet been made. Tbe explosive contents are made np for greater safety iu tiny waxen pellets, and lodged in a shell, the true flight of which is secured by a tapering telescopic tail; and the gun is to be discharged by the expansion of condensed air at a pressure of B,000 pounds per square inch, the impulse of which is a safer propelling energy than the ignition of any kiud of powder, because it does not operate so suddenly as to cause a danger of the premature explosion of tbe missile. The telescopic tall enables Lieutenant Graydon to shorten his shell by one-half, aud to re duce proportionately the length of the im pulse tube or gun proper; while the use of a pneumatic charge makes it possible, with out danger, to construct the shell more flimsily than would otherwise be the case. The coutract with Messrs. Taunton & Co. is for a 15-inch torpedo projector which will throw a charge of 000 pounds of dynamite a distance of three miles; but it is expected that this contract will be followed by orders for still larger weapons. As soon as the gun now in hand is delivered there will be a trial of its powers at Portsmouth against the Zalinski gun, not with dummy shells, as iu the case of tbe American experiments, but with actual charges of dynamite. The noise of the discharge being small, tbe pro jectile might be dropped into a fort or on to a ship without giving the besieged any mti mition of the quarter from which the attack came. The concussion when the dynamite exploded would in all probability he vio lent enough to put a large garrison hors de combat, even if they were not wounded by debris; and, truly aimed, a single shell wonld destroy an ironclad. The barrel, or pneumatic tube, of the gun is of Whitworth lorged steel, and weighs about 11 tons. TAKIHQ OUT THE CTJBLS. Colored Girls of Boston Wear Straight Hair Now. Boston Special.! The colored women of this city have learned that it is possible to takr the tint out of their hair, and there is quire a sensa tion over the new discovery. The idea was introduced by a young col ored womau from Virginia. She herself has a glossy bang and back hair as straight as that "of tbe late Sitting Bull. She says her own hair was formerly crisp and kinky, hut that an old Canadian woman told her how to make it straight, and this information she is now imparting for a consideration. The cus tomer is told first to wash her hair and come witn it well dried. She does so, and then the operation begins. A preparation that is amber-colored and of the consistency of cream is taken trom a large jar and rnbbcJ thoroughly into the hair, and where it was entirely lusterlcss before it begins to assume a gloss. This is rubbed so thoroughly into the scalp that none of the bairscan fail to have received a portion. Then vigorous brushing is resort to, anl the short hair besins to lengthen. If it were an inch long before, it is now fully two inches long, and if before it had been done up in what old-fasbioued Southern people term "plaits," it is now ready to be rolled into a loose twist or a loose coil at the back. The oper ation takes about four hours and is perma nent in its effects. It gives the colored wom an a very Indian-like appearance, and the few who will admit having been treated claimed thev did it merely to make the la bor of combing their hair so much the easier. One of them said: "One thing I know, and that is that it is terribly convenient to nave straight hair. I never before realized what a blessing it was. Before, I dreaded the task of combing it, and now I don't mind it at all." Bair straightening promises to be the fad for the winter among the colored la dies of Boston. HOW LONGr. Motorman Keely and Ills Faithful Com pany Heard From Again. New YorkTribune.3 The stockholders of the Keely Motor Com pany have just been holding their annual meeting at Philadelphia. Their confidence in the motor would seem unabated a fact which shows how much more go there is in their faith than as yet has been developed by the machine. It is said that just as soon as Mr. Keely secures "a practically continu? ous motion of the engine without variation of speed" an engine will be made for busi ness purposes. Good. It was the esteemed poet Milton who remarked that "thev also serve who only stand and wait." The Keely stock holders doubtless wear this quotation on their hatbands. MBS. CSHEA'S HOUSES. She Has Two Hather Dismal Looking Ones Down at Brighton. Fall Mall Bmljct. Mrs. O'Shei has two houses' jit Brighton, Nos. 9 and 10, Walsingham terrace. They are the very last houses ia Brighton iu the Shorebam direction, tney face the sea, and look onto some very bleak'and-damp tennis courts. Even in the summer they look dismal, and naturally very much more so iu this weather. At "the ' back the "win. dows look onto some b.uilding plot JuYs. O' Shea's JJesfdcnco. covered with rank- grass. In the distance tbe down may be seen partly concealed'by a tea mist. No. 10 is apparently-only partly furnished and looks Ttjy dismal. No. 9, on the other hand, looks cheerful enough. A large cage ot birds may be een in the bow window on the ground floor, the upper win dows have red curtain, which,, give a warmth to the cold stucco facings', while ihe form of a little girl with'a head qf jrolden hair gives life to the picture. '" MSp B' EL' ft fni a or WHAT COLUMBUS DID A Discussion of tbe Credit? Which Be longs to the Genoan. HIS KAJIE AND TBE WORLD'S PAIE Carious Old Haps That Foreshadowed the Aier Continents. LEGEND OF THE SETTLEMENT OP CUBA mmus roa the DisrATcrr.i ' NUMBER of ed. ucated gentlemen were, a few days' since, discussing onr great Chicago Fair, which is set for 1893. At first the talk was di rected at tbe com mercial s value to the world at large, of these stupend ous international expositions. One and all agreed that there was no mis taking their value to not only our own country, but to all others. They were admitted to be the most effective motor that have as yet been devised by modern peoples for the advancement of human knowledge. As the discussion continued the question of the name adopted for the coming exposi tion the Columbian arose. While a ma jority held that Columbns was entitled to the honor of the name, as a slight reward for his achievements, there were others who insisted that he was not entitled to such honor, as It was by no means proved that he had beeu the first to reach the American Continent. PERPLEXITY IN DATES. The first point that awakened argument was the date of Columbus' alleged discov ery. To the student of history there was something perplexing in thin, said they; for it the credit of having discovered America was given to Columbns, what was to become of the claims of tbe others who had unques tionably visited and in some cases perma nently located iu this country long before the Genoan existed? As the result of a suggestion offered, the party present then investigated the interiors ot the standard dictionaries for a definition of the word "discoverer." It was found that there was a unanimity of opinion among lexicographers that "a discoverer" was one who discloses; who lays bare a secret; an "explorer" was "a discoverer," inasmuch that lie discloses to general knowl edge that which was not already known. Now, this was a hook upon n hich the fol lowers of Columbus could well hang their arguments. And they proceeded to do it with great earnestness. Admitted, said they, that Christopher was not the first by a little matter ol hundreds or perhaps thou sans of vcars, he was at least tne first to "lay bare" tbis great hemisphere to the civilized world. Scandinavians may have found their way to it; Irish navigators before that j again, ana irnoeniciaos iu iar remoter nines thau either, but they had left no record of their isits to tne educated world; tbere'ore were not entitled to credit in the discovery of tbis country. WHAT COLUMBUS DISCOTEEED. But the most interesting phase of the dis cussion was to come. "Let us admit this claim for the sake of agreement," said an individual, who(up to that time had taken no part in the talk, &i-: Marco Polo. "and come right down to Columbus and his time, to satisfy ourselves of the justness of bis claims, as against those of even his own cotemporaries." As the gentleman's argument was of con siderable length the most important points only, are given below. On his first and second voyages, Columbus made all of bis so-called North American discoveries. Vespucci, his rival, but never theless his close friend, honors him with the title of "Discoverer of the Island ot Au tillia," as a resuh of these voyages. An tillia is tbe island known to ns as Cuba. Now, the peculiarity of this discovery it such it is termed is that tbe island of that name had a place on the globe of Martin Bebaim, which bears date 1492. However indefinitely it is located on this chart, it is yet the same that Colu-nbus is given tbe credit of discovering to the world. At tbe time this giobe was made Columbus had not returned from his first voyage. Here then was an island which is at least supposed to exist before our navigator brings tidings of its discovery. STILL EARLIEB C1IABTS. Furthermore, this ame island appears on a chart of the year 1425, which is still pre served in tbe ducal library at Weimar. It is also represented in the atlas of Andrea Bianco, made in 143G. and now preserved in the library of St. Mark, in Venice. Most interesting'of all, however, is the fact that it Mas introduced hy the celebrated .Floren tine philosopher, Toscanclli, in the chart prepared by him at the request of the King of Portugal, a copy of which was sent to Columbus-berore his voyage. It seems hard to believe that either Tos cauelli or Behaim would introduce in their maps a bit of geography which they were not certain had an cxis'ence in fact, yet such seems to hive been the case it Columbus really discovered tiie island. As authority lor its introduction, Behaim, who was con sidered one of the greatest map-makers that ever had an existence, says: "In the year 734; when all Spain was conquered by the heathen from Africa, the above island was settled by an archbishop from Oporto, ac companied by six other bishops, as well ns other Christians, both meu and women, who escaped from Spain by ships, with all their possessions; aud they built seven cities whence the island was called-the Island oi the Seven Cities." THE STORY OF MIGRATION CONFIRMED. Another ancient legend treats of practi cilly tbe same story, It locates tbe period of the migration above mentioned right alter the victory gained hy the Arabs over King Roderic ut Xeres de la Froatera in 711. Portuguese historians go into the facts oi the case, aud contend that such a migra tion did take place at the time mentioued. If this story is accepted it is evident some knowledge ot this out-lying American point oacl been given 10 me civuizea world before Columbus had dono so; therefore in this case, at least, he could lay no claim to dis covery.' It is argued that the settlement of this Isl and and its existence was largely legendary! Eyen if that is admitted, the very fact that it is placed on tbe most reliable maps of the time is evidence that the chart makers really believed in its existence, and if. on the other hand, it merely evolved from their imaginations, it is certainly one of the most remarkable coincidences of history. It hss also been generally believed that Columbus M r"""""C considered himself slighted when the new continent was named after another; that the fact of his claims having been rejected so wore upon him that DISAPPOINTMENT BEOKE HIS HEAET. Even Humboldt asserts that the name "America" was a nionunieni of the world's ingratitude. Keccnt investigation proves that there is a great deal of "bosh" in all of this. It was a fact that Columbus did not even know that he had "discovered" a new world no more than did Amerigo Ves pucci, wbo also died before this had become kuown. Columbus did not start out to dis cover new worlds. He had no earthly idea of doing so, no matter what romantic his torians would have us believe to the con trary. His intention was to reach India, and in records of his after life he indig nantly spurns any other imputation as to his intentions.? In a letter ot his dated 1S00. which is still extant, he says: "If anyone does not give me credit with having discovered the re maining parti ot India, it simply arises from personal hostility." Again in 1498, when he made bis third voyage and suc ceeded in reaching the mouth of the Orinico, he gave us further proof of his ignorance of the real geographical situation. He says of tr Sf i it .' . ttf . - rT?V V Vs V M- tiL Jfifo is. .'v;' -l'L n.i Hir- VJf&. li. ". 11 ,i . m I Sebastian Cabot. this river: "If this immense stream does not flow from the terrestrial paradise, it must take its rise in a land of boundless ex tent." WHAT SEBASTIAN CABOT DID. This was the first glance the Genoan navi gator had of the main land, whereas that Anglo-Veuetian, Sebastian Cabot, had reached the coast of Labrador in June of the previous year and iu this same year (1498), actually sailed along the entire North American coast from the latitude of Hudson Bay to the lowest point of Florida. At this point an Englishman of the party present murmured something about "stick ing a pin there." If most accounts be true Columbus' many voyages were more or less failures, for the reason that he was always laboring under the delusion that the strange countries vis ited by him were parts of India. He Is not to be censured for this as he was not the only one who was possessed of tbis idea. Even the most expert geographers did not admit the existence of a veritable continent be tween Eurone and Asia until long after the death of Columbus. The most curious and wonderlul ideas prevailed as to what the navigators of the time had really discovered and where it was located. In the region of the South Pole, a laud ot rather vague ex tent was represented under the name of "Brazilia Inferior;" South America as sumes a shape in some respects correct but North America appears as a small rectan gle ending at the 50th parallel of north lat itude. FINDING THE EARTH TVA3 BOUND. It would be well at this juncture to in quire how the stupendous mistakes arose. To do so thoroughly it becomes necessary to go back to antiquity.Some 1,800 years before Columbus made his famous vovages, Aristotle said that the idea that Spain and India were separated by water oulv was in credible. Eratosthanes, a Grasco-Ecyptian astronomer, who lived a century after Aristotle, entertained more definite views. He said: "If the extent of the Atlantic Ocean did not prevent, it would be possible lor us to sail from Spain to India along the same parallel." Thiswas one of the first intimations that philosophers believed the earth globular in shape. ' As the centuries rolled on this idea became more general until the growing world of the Middle Ages'began to Insist that if the earth was round, according to the theories of the scientists, India could be reached by sailing to the westward, and if so commercial Europe would be benefited vastly. Then the conglomeration of fact and fable recounted bv Marco Polo had also its effect. His wonderful stories of distant "Cathway" (China) and "Cipango" (Japan), where the mountains were of solid gold; pearls as com mon as pebble, and rubies and diamonds sparkled iu the open soil, was an incentive that could not long he neglected; even if almost certain death encompassed the way. WHAT INSPIRED COLUMBUS. Columbus was one of these seized by the fever, and he early began to lay plans for a voyage in search of these strange countries. That he was of the opinion that he had (jV plim iru .Sooth America , Wetlem Hemisphere of 15S0. reached them is evident from the text of some of his correspondeuce after his return. In 1504 he wrote a letter in which he says: "I reached on the 13th of May the province of Mango, which is contigious to that of Cathay. From Ciguara, in the country of Veragua. it is ouly ten daya' journey to the Ganges." Reference to" Behaim's map shows that Columbus considered himself tn have been on tbe northern shores of China, and the mere fact that be gives to the land visited hy him, the nahies of countries described by Marco Polo is almost- certain evidence tbat he was in search of those regions. It was still further argued that if Toseauelti had not supplied his plan and Hegiomontanus his "Ephemerides" or tables of declination of the sun and caber heavenly bodies, as n means of assistance to navigators, and if Behaim and his cotemporaries had not produced charts and maps, Columbus would never have been heard of beyond his own immediate times. Whether or no the. points raised in the foregoing are at all worthy of weight in con sidering the claims of Columbus to having been the discoverer of this country will not be discussed af present: Tney are gtven here aimply for what they are curious points advanced during an evening's dis cussion of Columbus. W. G. KAUFMANN. Affected Sis Sight. Cupid Longmlre struck a colored porter iu Louisville the other day who wears spec tacles. "Jim," said Cupid, "how did you eyer get near sighted?" "Guess it must haye been looting for tip;," says Jim. TI 1 . V " A $3?iiwS tSCj ansmss. mm?.. lit ui s.YrtiAti I lit in il mi f' North IAmekiCa r, V V o ....,.. S S Inferior. SAE-L4e. FIRE ON THE' RANCH. Alice MacGowan's Lively Experience in Southwest Texas. THE HOUSE BUSTLER OP THE PARTT A Trained Pony and an Entrained Elder After a Contrary Calf. INSPECTING THE USD WITH A GDN corttespoxdexce op toe dispatch. 1 Buena Ventura Kanch, Crockett County, Tex, Dec. 18. This is a cattle ranch in a country where sheep ranches are the- rule. It-is a beautiful country, partly high, level plains and partly roiling prairie, broken by low, flat topped hills and ridges into hundreds of draws, hollows or valleys. The land is fertile, mostly; the varieties of mesquite grass grow rich and plenteous; the climate is mild and delightful, northers infrequent and of modified ferocity, but the great de sideratum is water. Kunning water of any sort there is none, except during and immediately after heavy rains. The water courses are nine-tenths of the time arroyps, dry beds or runs, and the lagunas or lake beds scattered over the plains to the northeast of this place are'only dips in the prairies, where the grass grows fresher a greater portion of the year. For all these reasons this is an ideal sheep range, especially desirable to winter sheep on. They can find among the hollows and draws shelter from a wind from any direc tion or directions plenty of long, rich mesquite grass, while the absence ot water is no drawback, lor sheep drink very little or no water in winter, anyhow. GOING OVER THE RANCH. But this, as I said, is a cattle ranch. The family consists of tbe ranchman and his mother; the other members of the household being the ranchman's assistant and, jnst now, myself. I have been "out on the range" with Mr. Jackson every day since I got here. A ranchman goes out on the range or rides over tbe land where the body of bis cattle run to see it they are all right. if any are hurt, or sick, or molested by wild animals, etc. We each take a gun slung to the saddle hook, one well trained hound aud two pups "that aint old enough to have any sense yet," my host says, aud are on the lookout lor deer, antelope, cat or panther. The dogs go to start and trail cats,, foxes or panthers; so far we have seen only deer, and the two senseless pnps always rush in yelping just in tltnA frt Hrivi. th. rramt nwav I can never, somehow, receive tbe im pression of the utter solitude of the coun try miles upon miles, leagues beyond leagues of plains as level as a floor, or of broad, winding valleys and draws, like great ancient watercourses, where prehistoric man mav have looked ou noble streams taking their way in stately majesty to tbe Bio Grande, leaving greenness and life and music behind them, but now thirsty and silent and soundless, save for the occasional whirr of partridges, the flight of a hawk, the silent bounding away of a gray deer like the frightened deity of the place, the rare call of plover or curlew, or tbe clusters of cattle feeding by twos and threes. A PICTURE OF THE PLAINS. Yet, such bond-slaves of habit are our thoughts; such creatures of our long-time surroundings and experiences, I can never convince myself ot the genuineness and completeness of the solitude. All is so sofr, the slopes are so gentle, with the slant sun light smiling over them, the occasional mesquite is so like a peach tree, the live oak a spreading bid apple tree, that I see in every heap ot rocks or irregular break in the horizon line a cluster of little houses; leafless twigs are spires; a colony of tali sotol stalks ou a bank above a dry arroyo looks a little vineyard, or a garden, beside a stream with thrifty bean sticks; along the winding cattle trail (to me a little tame," domestic, rural path) I look and look to see man or boy coming, with a gun, maybe, and rabbits, or a scythe over his shoulder; I hear the whistle, a bark; I hear distant cow bells, mellow voices of reapers, or mowers, or plowmen, laughs aud calls of hnutcrs, the little treble cry of children playing, a cackle, calls, duckings, hammerings, all the suggestions and sounds, indistinct and softened by distance, of rustic life and our nearest neighbor, a sheep ranchman, ten miles away 1 Wc 'lope on and on, we make detours, circle around the foot of little hills and skirt low blnffs. the favorite haunts of cat and panther; theu creep cautiouslv over divides, gallop boldly out across high plains, the feeding grounds of deer and an telope. I look continually lor fence or other bar to our progress, but there is none, none, none in any direction. It is all snace. unlimited, unhindered, 'like an eternity or a universe; but still, for me, just over the next divide around the next turn, under the brow of the next queer-looking hill, always awaits the village or hamlet, or nestles the farmhouse. A BOLTING LITTLE BEEF. The solitude has in it nothing of desola tion. It is such a fair, kind, inviting land, so friendly, so humanized, so gracious and familiar, that I can never really know or feel our utter loneliness and isolation; 1 can never convince my fancy, -my imagination of it, and it is still with me as with Tenny son's Princess Ida's lover, the dream is the real, and the real but a dream. We had been out all morning, some days since, beef hunting the ranchman, the cowboy and mjself; wc had found a fat, curly-faced, muley yearling and driven him home. He bolted, to my great delight, jnst at the cor ral, and I was allowed to help round him up again. It was perfectly astounding to me the way my chunky little pony, that I had se cretly thought lazy and sleepy all the morn ing, conducted himself. The moment the call bolted Little Wilson without so much as "by your leave" was off after him like a shot- "The cowboy was on the other side with his rope swinging around his head. We headed him back again, and again, and ever time he bolted. If tbe cowboy had been on Little Wilson he could have roped tbe calf readily, for Little Wilson ran in close alongside over and over again, shook his head and snorted with zeal, then sheared off, and when he found there was no rope to make taut, dashed up again. I felt sorry for him. Jt seemed humiliating for such a business little fellow to have to carry a clumsy tenderfoot a female one, at that. THE CALL TO THE FIRE. But we got the calf iu the corral. I steeled myself to look while my host dropped him in his tracks, with bis nose right at his fore feet; theu we rode to the house to get some dinner, Mr. Jackson tving up our ponies with the remark tbat wc would go out and look for a cat or a pinther after dinner. But while we were at the table a weary, bmoke-begrimed man rode up to tell us he had let out tbe fire from bis camp over on a side draw. He and his partner had been fighting it all morning alone, but had found they were losing ground, aud had come for help. "If it gets through here into Johnson vour whole range is gone," said he. We all got up very promptly; canteens were filled with water, old coats and "green deer hides huuted up to tight the fire with, girths tightened, all made ready. Wit! vnn en?" Raid Mr. Janlmnn. Inntr. in? si me. "Of course," I replied, as calmly as I could, but overwhelmed with delight at the nprmission. We were iu the saddle in short order and off at a good gallop, which we held, with only brief breathing spells, for four miles. As we neared the gap, and the smoke loomed up thicker and blacker, my companion leaned anxiously forward in his saddle and bis large horse swung ahead at a faster pace, my little pony coming promptly up along side. SHE HELD THE HORSES. When we reached the firs Te found fivej men at work, the man wbo had come for us and his partner, a couple ot cow hunters from some distant ranch.and our cowboy. "You'll lead my horse," said Mr. Jack son, jumping off, throwing his coat across the saddle and handing me tbe bridle rein. Tbis was something, but I soon felt it was awfully little, as I looked at the men in the heat and smoke fighting silently, de terminedly, and I was debating the feasi bility of tying the ponies aud taking a hand as best I could, when the cowboy came up and looped his pony's bridle over the saddle pommel of niy horse, and tbe next moment the cow hunters and the other two followed with theirs, till I had a string of four led iu my right hand and one contrary fellow that had to he coaxed along, in my left. "I wish I could help," said I to the last man as ha gave me his horses. "Y'are help ing a lot," he answered; "it nlways takes one hand for horse rustler, you're saving one man's work." This was better. The men fought and fought, and I followed and followed. Every little while a dilapidated figure wonld come to my caravan out of the smoke and flame with grimy face and burning eyes and drink long from one of the canteens on tbe ponies, and it was usually only by the pony that he went to tbat I could judge of his identity. IT WAS A .HARD FIGHT. Sometimes the fire would burn low and seem almost under control, then, with a rat tle like that of musketry, would burst out in a group of tall sotol stalks and bulbs, or a thicket of greasewood or live oak scrub, and burn and rage and roar with a resinous odor and poppings and crackings like torpedoes. The afternoon wore away; the sun went down red and angry, the horse rustler grew cold in spite of the close proximity of the fire. I was as cold as tbe scorn ot the un feeling world colder. The marrow in my bones was chilled: my private opinions weie frapple; my very innermost thoughts and secret convictions, even my ulterior designs were congealed within me, but what was to be done? The fire was pretty well in hand, but everybody was pretty well exhausted. "If we don't meet'the fellows Irom over on Howard soon after we get over the top of ths divide here, we'll be give out," I heard one say. But hurrah! hurrah II We met "the fel lows from over on Howard" right on the top of the dividel They had cleaned every thing up so far and so had wel The fire was out and all was well! NOT USED TO THE FAIR. When ''the Howard fellows" caughtsight of a riding habit they shied like ponies at some hideous object. I am never wantonlr cruel or ruthless and would have turned off a little to help them out, but Mr. Jackson called out grimly, "Here Walker, here's Miss MacGowan." Poor Walker came reluctantly forward. There was nothing but the name left of the jaunty gallant I had met at so many dances. The smoke and soot and bunring heat had done their deadly work. Afterward, when I reproached Mr. J. with his cruelty, he grinned and said: "O, he wanted to stam pede, bnt I thouzht he ought to come up and take his share along with the rest of us." The fire was out; every man came and got his horse. Mr. J. jumped upon his: "Cornel We'll have to go like the very dence," said he, "we're all wet with persplratiou, and it's cold." We went. We went at a dead run. My ideas began to thaw and circulate, my heart leaped, my blood turned in my face and tingled through all my veins. Long before we reached the ranch house my side ached and my head was dizzy. Bnt what false show, what make-believe could ever stir the blood like this living reality? Alice MAcGowan. CHINESE PLAYING CAKD3. Those Used by the Celestials Are of Peculiar Shape and Size. St. Lonls Globe-Democrat. '"The Chinese name for a card considered singly or as one of the parts of a pack is sbeu, or 'fan,' a most evident reference to the manner of holding cards spread open like a fan, which is common to all nations. "The shape and size of the Chinese card are peculiar, Tbey ara printed ia black on a thin cardboard. Tbe backs are sometimes bright crimson, and sometimes black or yel low, and they are tbe shape and size of a finger. Some of them are little more than half an inch broad by three inches long, and others are 1 inch wide by 3 long. The pips and court cards are always printed in black on a white background, and on tbe face of some of them are stamped Chinese characters printed in red. In some packs the cards have animals, such as horses and deer, represented upon them; while in oth ers characters which may mean tbe names only of the animals are written above the pips. The cards are rounded at the top and bottom, and at the upper end a small por tion is left blank, as if to hold them con veniently and allow of their being spread or 'fanned' out, showing the whole of the pictured surface, tbe blank space being held under the thumb and fingers. Strangely enough, this blank space being at the top instead of at the bottom of the card, it wonld seem that they should be held by the top and spread out in exactly the reverse way customary among Europeans. The tiny cards are so narrow and so small that tbey might well be held concealed by the palm of tbe band, which could effectually cover them and prevent the shape of the pips bting seen through tbe thin cardboard or the number of the cards being counted by the opponent. "The Chinese have another name for their cards, aud this is Wat-pi, but it seems to be the name given, to different games, as tbey also call queer-looking tablets on which round dots are placed iu regular order and which resemble our dominoes by the same name." STALE BEEAD AHD WUTE, Tho Diet Upon Which a Bright Old Lady Seems to Thrive. At No. 1413 Third avenue, in a couple of rear rooms on the second floor, lives an old woman whose partiality for short commons has so astonished her neighbors that they are prepared to wager that she could easily outfast Suect if she could only be induced to undertake the task, Bays a writer in the New York Herald. The name of the woman is Mrs. Elsie Shively. I found a little crea ture with a crooked spine, but with a great fund of chcerfnloess and vivacity, com bined with a good deal of intelligence. She at once disclaimed all pretensions to being a faster. "About 18 years ago," she said, "I met with an accident which, combined with rheumatism and other ailments, has given a curve to my back that nature never put there. For a long time I could obtain no relief, but simply-had to endure tbe pain as best I could. I found oat about four years ago that the only thing that would give mo relief was what my neighbors call fasting combined with other treatment. But it isn't fasting at all. It is simply dieting. "I partake very sparingly of stale bread, eating nothing else, and drink a little hot wine before going to bed. Then I envelop myself in a wet sheet and get bundled up in a lot of spreads and blankets, the result being a profuse perspiration. And as the perspiration oozes off my aches and pains pass away, too. And alter keeping up tbis treatment for three or four months. I eniov. for me, comparatively good health." A Pack of Chinese Cardt. Which Is the Longer? Philadelphia Keeord.l 1 Just look for a moment at these two hori zontal lines aud tell which is the longer: Our friend, Snap Judgment, will sav, "The lower one, of course," but if 6. J. will measure the two he may open his eyes. MEDICAL ELECTRICITY AND ELECTRO SURGERY BY JDB. J.m VANBYCK, 502 Penn avenue, Filtsburg. Medlcil electricity is mo of the ereat forces of nature, ard in the bands of tbe skillful elec tro therapeutist is one of the most powerful, far-reaching aim grandest healing, invigorating and cnrativo agents known to science. Admin istered in a scientific and jodicious manner it is a poweriul stimulant tonic. Sedative It produces natural, healthy, restful sleep without anv after unpleasant or ill effects. It improves digestion, incrnses thn appetite, strengthens and develops tha muscles, increases the uciznt of the body, improves the nutrition. increases tbe ability and inclination lor mental and physical labor, restores lost vitality, visor and strength; andbylts use mora can be acorn- Flisbcd tbao by medicine alone fortbis reason : n treating by ejectritity cver cell, every part of tbe human system, is acted upon by tbe car rent; every nerve, muscle, bone, every gland and all tbe secretions of tbe body are reached and influenced by tbis potent agent ot life. MEDICAL ELECTRICITY- By tbe nse of medical electricity Dr. Van Drck successfully treats overy form of head ache, neuralgia, paralysis, dyspepsia, diseases and conditions of tbe stomacU. liver, bowels, kidneys, gents' urinary organs, nervous dis eases, epilepsy (fallinz sickness, stammering, goo:, rheumatism, any kind of pain, nervous prostration, debility, loss ot flesh, ca tarrh, hay fever, loss of hair and diseases of the skin, bair and scalp, a tired, worn-out feelinc. over-brainwork. wry neck, palsy, writers' wrist cramp, stiffened and enlarged joints, pain or soreness alter an in jury as a fractnre nr a sprained limb, spinal -Irritation, weakness and curvature insanity. Diseases and conditions of tbe num. ear, throat and lanzs Nervous debility, nervous prostra tion, inability to perforin tho unly bodily func tions, mental and physical labor without great effort, inability to concentrate yonr thought on anv one subject, loss of memory, manhood and n'rial vitality; laceacbe, spasm and twitch ing of tbe muscles. SURGICAL ELECTRICITY Is that branch of electro therapeutics relating to surgical diseases and condition". In medical electricity the electo therapeutist uses general fandization. central galvanization, local faridi zation and local galvanization. Tbe electro snrgeon nses these methods of application, with the addition of electrolysis (which is elec tric needle operating), and galvano cautery bv electro surgery. We perform tho roost difficult, delicate ana heroic sanrical operations by elec tricity instead ol the knife. Hundreds of nervous people who rcqnire surgical treatment often put it off until too late, because they have a perfect horror of being operated on with the surgeon's knife, while thev don't hesi tate to be operated on by electricitr. Tbe electro surgeon is called on to treat such eases as tho following: SUPERFLUOUS -HAIR On the Female Face. Hair on tbe upper lin, chin, cheeks, nose, forehead, between the eyes, ears, arrasj breast: on men': cheeks, above the beard line, destroyed forever by tho ELECTRIC NEEDLE UPEHAIIUN By DR. J. VANDYCK, 502 Penn Av, Birthmarks, moles, waru, wens, rysts, red nose, enlarged veins of tha nose, coarse, deep pores, raised and dl- coioreu scars, goitre. Acno pimples, blackheads, liver spots, solar spots, enlarged and hardened glands. Morbid growths in tbo nose, ears, throat and rectum, strictures, hemorrhoids, fistula, vari cose veins, ulcers, enlarged and painful joints, cancers, tumors. Kelvid, excessive and offen sive discharges from tho nose, ears, etc., tumors of the eyelids, insrowing eyelashes, very heavy. Irregular eyebrows, excessive oiliness of the face, coarse, rough, face and hands and all skin deformities Dr. J. VanDyck, electro-therapeutist and snrgeon. has devoted 20 years of his profes sional life to the study and scientific applica tion of medical and surgical electricitv. If you or anv member ot your family are afflicted by any of tbe above diseases or conditions, con sult Dr. VanDyck at once and nlace joursolt under his care. You can consnlt the Doctor with every confidence in bis skill. He bases his claims to public confidence on 20 years' experience In more than 2U.0O0 applica tions, a perfect knowledge of Electro Physics, .Electro Physiology, Electro medicine, surgery and Electro Diagnosis. Remember tbis: Long as there is life there Is hope, and no matter bow baa yonr ca?e may be, nor how long it has lasted, nor bow ranch you have done for it, if it is curable Dr. VanDyck can core you. Consult him at once. Terms reasonable, DR. J. VANDYCK. 502 Penn av., Pittsburg. Hours 9 A. jr. to 8 p. M. sa MR. W. H. SGHLUMPF, SE WICKLEY, PA., MKMDEK OT THE WPXL-KNOW2T FAaHET OT THAT NAME. PEOMISENT IX THE BAKERT AND COSFECTIOXEET BUSINESS, TESTrTIES TO TIIE SKILL OF BE. BYERS IX CtTEISO HI3I OF A TEOUBLESOUE AFFECTIOir. Mr. Scblumpf had been afflicted with ca tarrhal, neuralgic and stomach trouble for long time, which always became greatly ag gravated every sprlnjr. The shooting pain be tween the eyes and thronch temnles to back ol head at times became unbearable, and crusts were constantly forming in nostrils, causing dryness in bark part of nose, tbe throat, tongue and mouth. Larzo Assures formed in tongue, becoming so painful tbat chewing and swallow ing were performed with difficulty. Dyspeptic symntoms, such as bloating and rifting after meals, bad. taste in mouth, loss of appetite, eta, eta, set in, making life miserable. Mr. W. B. Schlumpf, Bewickley, Pa. After five months' continnons treatment by Dr. Byersall tbe unpleasant symptoms com plained of Iy Mr. Scblumpf were removed, and he says: "I am cl-i to state that Dr. Byers nai cured me entirely of all my troubles and I never felt better in my life. Out of gntitnde to him and desire to be of service to others I make this statement freely and unreservedly. My advice to everyone similarly afflicted is by all means consult Dr. Byers before giving up all hope." A pationt's grateful appreciation of bisworz is often as azreeable to a physician as the re ceipt ot bis fee. Mr. Scblumpf has sent me at least a half dozen patients who in their tarn have sent others, so this is sufficient evidence ot my honest and conscientious work, and M good work always pays, patients can expect to receive a continuation of my best endeavors la their behalf. TREATMENT S3 JL MONTH, JUDICTS ' CXUI3ED. Office of Dr. Byers, established 1SS5, No. 421 Penn av. Specialties: Catarrh, all nervous, blood and sKln diseases, all chronic diseases. Hours, 9 till i, 7 till 8. Htradajs, forenoon only, deaO-Ma l&(CU2?iSf4dK7TO0 IT' -